Delay status reporting

Abstract

The invention refers to a method performed by a communication device, UE, (12), the method comprising transmitting a delay status report, DSR (30), that includes delay information (38) of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical channels, LCHs, or logical channel groups, LCGs, and selectively using a first format for the DSR and / or a second format for the DSR wherein the first format comprises a plurality of reporting thresholds associated to the buffer data, and the second format comprises a single reporting threshold DSR associated to the buffer data; the invention further refers to a corresponding method in a network node (14), and to a corresponding UE and a corresponding network node.

Description

[0001] P112900W001

[0002] Delay Status Reporting

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] This disclosure is generally related to wireless communications and is more particularly related to techniques for delay status reporting.

[0005] BACKGROUND

[0006] The term 5G refers to the fifth generation of mobile communications, as standardized by members of the 3rd-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). 5G addresses a wide range of use cases from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) to massive machine type communications (mMTC). 5G includes the New Radio (NR) access stratum interface and the 5G Core Network (5GC). The NR physical and higher layers are reusing parts of the LTE specification, and to that add needed components when motivated by new use cases.

[0007] Low-latency, high-rate applications such as extended Reality (XR) and cloud gaming are important in 5G era. The term XR refers to all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. It is an umbrella term for different types of realities including Virtual reality (VR), Augmented reality (AR), Mixed reality (MR), and the areas interpolated among them. The levels of virtuality range from partially sensory inputs to fully immersive VR.

[0008] 5G NR is designed to support applications demanding high rate and low latency in line with the requirements posed by the support of XR and cloud gaming applications in NR networks. 3GPP Release 17 contains a study item on XR Evaluations for NR, published as 3GPP TR 38.838 v 17.0.0 (Dec. 2021). The main objectives are to identify the traffic model for each application of interest, the evaluation methodology and the key performance indicators of interest for relevant deployment scenarios, and to carry out performance evaluations accordingly in order to investigate possible standardization enhancements in potential follow-up SI / WI.

[0009] Low-latency applications like XR and cloud gaming require bounded latency, not necessarily ultra-low latency. The end-to-end latency budget may be in the range of 20-80 milliseconds (ms), which needs to be distributed over several components including application processing latency, transport latency, radio link latency, etc. For these applications, short transmission time intervals (TTIs) or mini slots targeting ultra-low latency may not be effective.

[0010] In addition to bounded latency requirements, the applications like XR and cloud gaming also require high-rate transmission. This can be seen from the large frame sizesP112900W001

[0011] originated from this type of traffic. The typical frame sizes may range from tens of kilobytes to hundreds of kilobytes. The frame arrival rates may be 60 or 120 frames per second (fps). As a concrete example, a frame size of 100 kilobytes and a frame arrival rate of 120 fps can lead to a rate requirement of 95.8 Mbps.

[0012] A large video frame is usually fragmented into smaller IP packets and transmitted as several transport blocks (TBs) over several TTIs in RAN. For example, for delivering the frames with a size of 200 KB each, the median number of needed TBs is 5.

[0013] The characteristics of XR traffic arrival are quite distinct from typical web-browsing and VoIP traffic. It is well expected that the arrival time is quasi-periodic and largely predictable as VoIP. However, its data size is order of magnitude larger than VoIP, as discussed above. In addition, similar to web-browsing, the data size is different at every application Protocol Data Unit, PDU, arrival instance due to dynamics of contents and human motion.

[0014] As mentioned above, many XR applications will generate traffic periodically with a variable size. When the application packet enters the internet, the initial packet may be transmitted into a single PDU in the network or may be segmented several PDUs. One application packet could, for instance, correspond to one or several IP packets.

[0015] IP packets will arrive to the Packet Data Convergence Protocol, PDCP, layer, and may thus form one or a plurality of PDCP SDUs. The PDCP layer will create PDCP PDUs and will deliver them to lower layers. When an IP packet arrives to PDCP, the PDCP layer starts a PDCP discard timer. When this timer expires, the PDCP discards the PDCP SDU as well as the corresponding PDCP Data PDU. If the PDCP PDU was delivered to lower layers, PDCP indicates the discard to lower layers. Lower layers, e.g., the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, will discard the PDCP PDUs (RLC SDU) if these RLC SDU or any segment of the RLC SDU has not yet been transmitted to lower layers.

[0016] As discussed above, an application PDU, e.g., a video frame, is divided into multiple IP packets. All of the IP packets that belong to one video frame can be defined as PDU Set.

[0017] In more detail, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) sublayer serves several functions in communication. A packet that the PDCP layer receives from a higher protocol layer for transmission is referred to as a Service Data Unit (SDU). From this SDU, the PDCP layer forms one or more other packets referred to as Protocol Data Units (PDUs) for sending to a lower protocol layer, for further processing and transmission. Each PDU encapsulates at least some of the payload of the SDU with a PDCP header.

[0018] One of the tasks of PDCP is to ensure the reliable transmission of data by buffering transmitted packets, e.g., PDCP Service Data Units (SDUs). In simple terms, it holds onto these packets temporarily so that they can be resent if not received correctly the first time.

[0019] More particularly, PDCP uses status reports to communicate which SDUs were successfully received and which ones were not. If some SDUs were missed, they are resentP112900W001

[0020] to ensure complete transmission. To manage this process effectively, the transmitting PDCP entity needs a buffer to store the SDlls temporarily. However, this buffering introduces challenges, such as knowing when to discard or remove an SDU from the buffer. This decision might be based on factors like buffer overflow or when an SDU becomes too old to be useful according to its Quality of Service (QoS) profile. To address this, PDCP employs a discard timer. When an SDU is placed in the buffer for transmission, a countdown timer (referred to as a discard timer) starts running. If confirmation of successful delivery isn't received before the discard timer expires, the SDU is discarded from the buffer. This ensures that the buffer doesn't become cluttered with stale or unneeded data. Additionally, PDCP may discard an SDU if it receives confirmation of successful delivery through a status report.

[0021] Some known approaches apply the same PDCP discard timer to multiple SDUs that carry the payload of one unit of information at the application layer, referred to as a PDU Set. Where the application layer unit of information represents a video frame, for example, the PDU Set may represent multiple PDCP SDUs conveying that video frame. Applying PDCP discard on a PDU Set basis may account for the reality that expiration of a PDCP discard timer for one SDU in the PDU Set means that the whole PDU Set is no longer useful and can be discarded in full. Exploiting PDU Sets in this way improves PDCP discard because it improves radio resource conservation by avoiding wasting radio resources on transmitting data that has become useless.

[0022] As defined by 3GPP: A PDU Set is composed of one or more PDUs carrying the payload of one unit of information generated at the application level (e.g. a frame or video slice forXRM Services, as used in TR 26.926

[0027] ). In some implementations, all PDUs in a PDU Set are needed by the application layer to use the corresponding unit of information. In other implementations, the application layer can still recover parts all or of the information unit when some PDUs are missing.

[0023] 3GPP has agreed on having a “PDU Set Importance” (PSI) indicator which indicates a certain importance level for the said PDU Set. The importance level of the PDU Sets indicates how useful the PDU Set is for the application, the assumption is that low importance PDU Sets can down prioritized, or even discarded, e.g., in the presence of network congestion, in favor of more reliable delivery of higher importance PDU Sets.

[0024] In the work item for Release 18 XR, anew solution for uplink (UL) PSI-based discarding has been introduced. The solution introduced depends on the UE identifying the PSI levels of the PDU Sets, determining what is a low or high importance PDU Set, and then applying behavior configured by the network on each of the PDU Sets depending on their identified importance. With this solution, no information about the PDU Sets is delivered to the network.P112900W001

[0025] Some embodiments herein apply to enhancements of Delay Status Reporting (DSR), e.g., as introduced in 3GPP Rel-18, see 3GPP TS 38.321 V18.3.0. The DSR is a MAC Control Element, CE, with separate handling from the legacy Buffer Status Report (BSR).

[0026] Except as otherwise enhanced according to embodiments herein, the Delay Status Reporting (DSR) procedure is used to provide the serving gNB with delay status of logical channel group, LCGs. The delay status for an LCG includes a remaining time, which is the smallest remaining value of the running PDCP discard Timers among PDCP SDlls that are buffered for the LCG but have not been transmitted in any MAC PDU, and the total amount of delay-critical UL data for the LCG according to a data volume calculation procedure for the associated RLC and PDCP entities, respectively.

[0027] The format for the DSR, may be as shown in Figure 1.

[0028] The fields in the DSR MAC CE are defined as follows:

[0029] - LCGi: This field indicates the presence of delay information (i.e. the Remaining Time and Buffer Size fields) for the Logical Channel Group (LCG) i. The LCG; field set to 1 indicates that the delay information for the LCG i is reported. An LCGi field set to 0 indicates that delay information for the LCG i is not reported; - Remaining Time: This field indicates the shortest remaining value of PDCP discardTimer (described in clause 7.3 in 3GPP TS 38.323) among all PDCP SDUs buffered for an LCG, at the time of the first symbol of the first PUSCH transmission that includes this DSR MAC CE. The length of this field is 6 bits. The value r in this field indicates a remaining time within the range of (r, r+ 1] msec.

[0030] - BT: This field is present only if the corresponding LCG is configured with additionalBSR-TableAllowed', otherwise, this field is reserved. If present, the BT field set to 1 indicates that the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x are used to set the value of the Buffer Size field, while the BT field set to 0 indicates that the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-2 are used instead.

[0031] - Buffer Size: The Buffer Size field indicates the total amount of delay-critical UL data for an LCG according to the data volume calculation procedure specified in clause 5.5 in 3GPP TS 38.322 and clause 5.6 in 3GPP TS 38.323 for the associated RLC and PDCP entities, respectively, after the MAC PDU has been built. If the corresponding LCG is configured with additionalBSR-TableAllowed and the amount of delay-critical UL data for an LCG is within the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x, the MAC entity shall use the buffer sizes specified in Table 6.1.3.1-x to set the value of this field; otherwise, the MAC entity shall use Table 6.1.3.1-2 instead. This field is indicated in number of bytes. The length of this field is 8 bits.P112900W001

[0032] The Remaining Time, the BT, and the Buffer Size fields for an LCG shall be reported in two consecutive octets. These three fields for different LCGs shall be included in a DSR MAC CE in ascending order based on the LCGj.

[0033] For the purpose of the delay critical buffer volume reporting in the DSR, 3GPP specs defines delay criticial PDCP SDU as the follows:

[0034] Delay-critical PDCP SDU: if pdu-SetDiscard is not configured, a PDCP SDU for which the remaining time until discardTimer expiry is less than the remainingTimeThreshold. If pdu-SetDiscard is configured, a PDCP SDU belonging to a PDU Set of which at least one PDCP SDU has the remaining time until discardTimer expiry less than the

[0035] remainingTime T h res hold.

[0036] In 3GPP standardization, it has beed discussed that the DSR shall be further enhanced in release 19, Rel19. Specifically it has been discussed to specify enhancements for support of UL scheduling to enable high XR capacity while meeting delay requirements / avoiding too late PDUs, and an enhanced DSR (Delay Status Report) reporting with multiple pairs of remaining time and buffer size for an LCG.

[0037] For such enhanced DSR, the buffered data may be divided into multiple portions based on the multiple reporting time threshold levels configured for an LCG. The enhanced DSR may indicate the following information for each portion for which BS>0:

[0038] • Buffer size of data volume in each portion

[0039] • Shortest remaining time among PDCP SDUs buffered in each portion.

[0040] A one-bit indication may indicate whether a certain / further pair of remaining time information and buffer size information is present in the new DSR MAC CE for the associated LCG.

[0041] There currently exist certain challenge(s). The new Rel19 DSR format will contain more granular information about the buffer size in the UE. The granularity (and size of the report) will be dependent on the number of thresholds configured for LCGs. This will increase the size of the MAC CE, potentially much larger than the single reporting threshold DRS (as used in Rel18). There may be situations where the full enhanced (large) report is not feasible to transmit, e.g. opportunistic sending of a DSR report and fit it in the UL grant.

[0042] SUMMARY

[0043] For such enhanced DSR (MAC CE), the buffered data may be divided into multiple portions based on the multiple reporting time threshold levels configured for an LCG. The enhanced DSR indicates the following information for each portion for which BS>0:P112900W001

[0044] • Buffer size of data volume in each portion

[0045] • Shortest remaining time among PDCP SDlls buffered in each portion.

[0046] A further field (e.g. one-bit) may indicate whether a certain / further pair of remaining time information and buffer size information is present in the new DSR MAC CE for the associated LCG.

[0047] The invention provides measures to handle delay status reporting using different formats, wherein a first delay startus report, DSR, format comprises one reporting threshold (i.e. one information pair (or value pair) of a remaining time and a corresponding buffer size) as discussed afore, and a second, extended DSR format with multiple reporting thresholds (i.e. information or value pairs each of a remaining time and a corresponding (partial) buffer size). The first format in the following description may also be referred to as Rel18 (DSR) for single threshold format, and the second or enhanced DSR format may be referred Rel19 (DSR), or multr-threshold format.

[0048] The communication device or user equipment, UE, may be configured to selectively use both formats.

[0049] In an embodiment thereto, the UE performs:

[0050] transmitting a delay status report, DSR, that includes delay information of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical channels, LCHs, or logical channel groups, LCGs;

[0051] selectively using a first format for the DSR and / or a second format for the DSR wherein the first format comprises a plurality of reporting thresholds associated to the buffer data, and the second format comprises a single reporting threshold DSR associated to the buffer data.

[0052] In a further embodiment, a network node serving the UE performs receiving a delay status report, DSR, that includes delay information of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical channels, LCHs, or logical channel groups, LCGs.

[0053] Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatus, computer programs, and carriers of those computer programs.

[0054] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0055] Figure 1 illustrates the Refined Long BSR Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE).

[0056] Figure 2 illustrates an example communication network in which at least some of the embodiments described herein may be employed.

[0057] Figure 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method performed by a communication device, such as a UE operating in a 3GPP communication network.

[0058] Figure 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method performed by a network node in a communication network.P112900W001

[0059] Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating an example communication device, according to some embodiments.

[0060] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example network node, according to some embodiments.

[0061] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments.

[0062] Figure 8 shows a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

[0063] Figure 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example network node, according to some embodiments.

[0064] Figure 10 illustrates a virtualization environment.

[0065] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0066] Figure 2 shows a communication network 10 according to some embodiments. The communication network 10 is configured to provide a communication service to a communication device 12, e.g., a user equipment (UE). The communication network 10 as shown for example may include a network node 14, e.g., a base station, configured to serve the communication device 12 and / or to otherwise provide the communication device 12 with access to the communication network 10.

[0067] The communication device 12 includes a protocol stack with multiple layers. A lower layer 20L (e.g., a Medium Access Control, MAC, layer) provides data transfer services to upper layer(s) 20H on logical channels (LCHs) 18. The upper layer(s) 20H may for instance include a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer. A logical channel 18 is defined by the type of information it carries, e.g., as a control channel or a traffic channel. In some embodiments, logical channels may be grouped into logical channel groups 18G, e.g., with the logical channels 18 in any given logical channel group 18G having similar quality of service (QoS) requirements. Regardless, a logical channel 18 may carry data packets, e.g., in the form of MAC Service Data Units (SDUs). These data packets may convey data packets from an upper layer, such as Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) SDUs or Protocol Data Units (PDUs).

[0068] The communication device 12 as shown may operate according to a delay status reporting (DSR) procedure. According to this procedure, the communication device 12 transmits to the network node 14, a message 30 that includes delay information 38, e.g., associated with one or more of the logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G. The delay information 38 may for instance concern the status of discard timers (e.g., PDCP discard timers) associated with data packets conveyed on the logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G. Some embodiments herein enable this delay information 38 beingP112900W001

[0069] selected by the UE to less or more fine-grained, while also enabling to select an appropriate format to report the delay information 38.

[0070] More particularly in this regard, Figure 2 shows a set 22 of logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G for which a DSR 26 has been triggered. The DSR 26 for a logical channel 18 or logical channel group 18G triggers reporting of delay information 28 for that logical channel 18 or logical channel group 18G.

[0071] In some embodiments, the DSR 26 may have different formats depending on the associated logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G that are reported.

[0072] The delay information 38 reported in the message 30 may comprise information 28 for a subset 22S of the logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G which have pending DSRs 26. As shown in Figure 2, for instance, rather than including in the message 38 the delay information 28 for the entire set 22 of logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G for which a DSR 26 has been triggered, the communication device 12 includes in the message 30 the delay information 28 for only a subset 22S of the logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G for which a DSR 26 has been triggered. In these and other embodiments, the communication device 12 may include in the message 30 delay information 28 for as many of the logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G which have delay status reports 26 pending as can be accommodated in the message 30, e.g., given a maximum size of the message 30 and / or a number of transmission resources available for transmitting the message 30. This may mean that the communication device 12 selects the subset 22S of logical channels or logical channel groups 18G for which to include delay information 28 in the message 30, based on a maximum size of the message 30 and / or a number of transmission resources available for transmitting the message 30. In some embodiments, the communication device 12 may select the subset 22S based also on a priority ordering of the logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G, e.g., such that the subset 22S may for instance be limited to the highest priority logical channels or logical channel groups. Alternatively or additionally, the communication device 12 may select the subset 22S based also on, for each of the logical channels 18 or logical channel groups 18G for which a DSR 26 is pending: (i) whether the same delay information has been previously reported for the logical channel 18 or logical channel group 18G as is to be included in the message 30; and / or (ii) how long ago the same delay information was been previously reported for the logical channel 18 or logical channel group 18G as is to be included in the message 30.

[0073] Alternatively or additionally, the communication device 12 in some embodiments limits the delay information 38 reported for at least one logical channel 18 or logical channel group 18G to a subset 28S of the delay information 28 configured to be reported, e.g., as to limit the granularity of the delay information 28 reported. That is, for at least one logicalP112900W001

[0074] channel 18 or logical channel group 18G for which a DSR 26 is triggered, less delay information 28 is reported for that logical channel 18 or logical channel group 18G than is otherwise configured to be reported.

[0075] This limitation on reporting of delay information 28 may be realized by limiting delay information 28 reported for so-called reporting time thresholds.

[0076] In an embodiment the UE 12 is configured to selectively use a single reporting threshold DSR (in the following also being referred to as Rel18 DSR) and / or an enhanced DRS (in the following also being referred to as Rel19 DSR) for reporting a remaining time and buffer size of data in the UE buffer. A Rel18 DSR uses only one threshold for both trigger and reporting, while a Rel19 DSR may have multiple reporting thresholds (but still only one trigger threshold). In the combined usage, the trigger and reporting thresholds may be configured independently for both the Rel18 and Rel19 DSR formats but valid at the same time.

[0077] Transmitting a DSR may be performed by transmitting one or a plurality of DSR MAC CEs.

[0078] Each reporting threshold may comprise a pair of values comprising a remaining time (until they will be discarded from the buffer) and a corresponding buffer size.

[0079] In an embodiment thereto, there may be different trigger thresholds for a Rel18 and Rel19 DSR (even in the same logical channel LCH or in the same logical channel group, LCG).

[0080] Alternatively, a single triggering threshold is used for both Rel18 and Rel19 DSR. The decision of what format will be used for DSR reporting depends on certain conditions.

[0081] In an embodiment, if the LCHs or LCGs in the report only have one threshold configured, or if the LCHs / LCGs have only data associated to only one threshold, it may not matter which format that is used, as the granularity of the formats is the same. In such condition, the UE may decide at its own whether so use Rel18 DSR format or Rel19 DSR format.

[0082] If the UE determines that LCHs / LCGs to be reported have configured multiple thresholds and data in more than one threshold, the UE performs one of the following:

[0083] transmitting the DSR using the selected Rel19 format, if there are sufficient transmission resources (PUSCH resources) available for transmitting the DSR, or if the UE does not have enough time to prepare the Rel19 DSR format for transmission an the upcoming time instance;

[0084] otherwise, if the UE determines that there are not sufficient transmission resources available for transmitting a Rel19 DSR, and / or if the UE does not have enough time toP112900W001

[0085] prepare the Rel-19 DSR format for transmission the upcoming time instance, the UE may perform one of the following actions:

[0086] refraining from transmitting the DSR report with Rel.19 format (at that time instance);

[0087] postpone the Rel19 DSR transmission until a later time instance, where there are sufficient transmission resources to accommodate the DSR;

[0088] exclude all thresholds except one selected threshold and transmit a corresponding Rel.18 DRS with the selected threshold (together with the associated buffer data). In such situation the UE may apply certain rules for selecting the threshold. These rules may be received from the network; alternatively, the applied rules are known by both the UE and the network. The remaining threshold (or a further part of the thresholds) may be transmitted in a later time instance;

[0089] transmitting a Rel.18 DSR to exclude all LCHs / LCGs being configured with multiple reporting thresholds and / or having data associated to more that one threshold; and

[0090] truncate some values (values representing a remaining time and / or values representing a buffer size).

[0091] Embodiments thus avoids mixing the Rel19 with Rel18 DSR, as mixing reporting using both single and multiple thresholds may create ambiguity for the network scheduler, i.e. mixing high granularity and low granularity reports.

[0092] In an example, only thresholds for Rel19 are configured and the triggering of a DSR is only dependent on these thresholds, while the selection of using a Rel18 format instead of the Rel19 format is dependent on other conditions.

[0093] In another example, one logical channel group, LCG, can trigger only one type of format such that one LCG is configured with on (first) threshold for Rel18 and another LCG is configured with a plurality of (further) thresholds for Rel19.

[0094] In an embodiment thereto, the transmitted DSR, e.g. a Rel19 DSR, may include reporting values for both LCGs, e.g. the triggered DSRs are inserted into one report even if they have different formats.

[0095] In an embodiment, two different formats are transmitted at the same time, i.e. both a Rel18 DSR and a Rel19 DSR format is transmitted in separate DSR MAC CEs in the same transmission. Which LCG that is included in each of the DSR may be based on configured conditions being specified some following embodiments.

[0096] In line with afore described embodiments, a limiting condition for when the UE 12 can select to report with a Rel18 DSR format may be provided. The limiting condition is e.g. that only LCGs with a single reporting threshold are allowed to be reported in a Rel18 DSR format; i.e. a Rel18 DSR format can only contain reporting values for LCGs configured with single threshold, while LCGs with multiple reporting thresholds may only be reported in a Rel19 DSR format e.g. if there is not sufficient transmission resources available, theseP112900W001

[0097] reports may be kept pending to be reported in a later transmission opportunity having sufficient transmission resources.

[0098] Thus, the UE 12 can select a Rel 18 DSR format to report only when LCGs configured with a single threshold contain data to be reported, e.g. there is new data that triggered a DSR in these LCGs, i.e. only these LCGs have a pending DSR.

[0099] In embodiments discussed above, the UE 12 is configured to be allowed to transmit with a Rel 18 format even when some LCGs with multiple thresholds have data, wherein these multi-threshold LCGs are excluded from the report. The UE may be further or alternatively allowed to exclude values (except data associated to one threshold) from the DSR report depending on a certain state or certain conditions, e.g. depending on at least one of the following:

[0100] • an amount of new data that triggered a threshold in those multi-thresholds LCGs (e.g. by determining if the amount of data exceed a certain threshold), • a remaining time threshold the data resides in (e.g. data only exceeded a trigger threshold but still have a long remaining time until discard), • a number of reporting thresholds that have data to be reported for,

[0101] • a time since a last DSR was reported for these LCGs, and

[0102] • depending on a timer.

[0103] If one or a plurality of LCGs which triggered a DSR is excluded from the report, these excluded LCGs will still have a DSR left pending to be reported in a future instance, i.e. a Rel18 format may be transmitted first containing reporting values for a limited set of LCGs but a Rel19 format will be transmitted in a future transmission opportunity and reporting for the previously excluded LCGs; in such situation, the buffer size in these LCGs will likely have changed and may need to be calculated together with any potential additional LCGs that will have a triggered the DSR at that time instance, i.e. there will be a need for a new report created using Rel19 format and taking all these changes into account.

[0104] According to embodiments discussed above, the multi-threshold LCGs are not allowed to be excluded from the report. In such situation, the UE will refrain from Rel18 DSR format reporting; If the complete Rel 19 DSR is too large with respect to available transmission resources, the UE 12 may then perform a reporting with reduced information (with less bits) e.g. by truncating values to be reported, or it may perform the (full) Rel19 reporting in a future transmission opportunity (with enough transmission resources for the Rel-19 report).

[0105] In another embodiment, the UE 12 is allowed, e.g. by network configuration, to report with a Rel18 format for selected configured Rel19 reporting thresholds. It can be limited to certain conditions, e.g. in a situation, wherein data resides only in a selected threshold aP112900W001

[0106] Rel18 format may be used instead of Rel 19 even for LCGs with multiple reporting thresholds; to avoid creating ambiguity for the network scheduler; the network knows when Rel18 format and / or the rules applied by the UE.

[0107] A simple solution is to limit the information to the threshold with the least remaining time, since then no further granularity is possible to report for.

[0108] Alternatively, the UE can be configured to use the Rel18 format only when a Rel19 format will not provide better granularity, i.e. any threshold can be reported in the Rel18 format but the reported value for the remaining time will be enough to inform of the complete buffer granularity. For example, there is only data residing in one threshold and even if instead a Rel 19 format would be reported it would not provide any better granularity for the network scheduler, so the network scheduler will know that in the case that a Rel 18 format is used it is providing the correct / best granularity of the remaining time.

[0109] In another embodiment, when reporting with both a Rel18 BSR and Rel19 BSR for the same LCG, the UE may be allowed to use buffer size calculations intended for the Rel19 format also when reporting with the Rel 18 format. It can be configurable by network which buffer size calculation that is to be used. It can also be depending on conditions, i.e. only when a limited number of non-delay critical data is ahead of the delay critical data the Rel 18 calculation is used.

[0110] A further related embodiment is that if Rel18 format is limited to only using the Rel18 buffer size calculation then this may be a new condition impacting the selection of format, e.g. only use Rel18 format when there is no non-delay critical data in the buffer size, i.e. there would be no difference in the buffer size reported when using either format.

[0111] In another embodiment, if a Rel-19 DSR threshold is triggered but the UE does not have enough time to prepare the Rel-19 DSR format, it performs Rel-18 DSR format reporting. The other way round is also possible that if a Rel-18 DSR threshold is triggered and if the UE has enough time to prepare for the Rel-19 DSR format, then it can send the Rel-19 DSR. All aforementioned restriction conditions determining which LCG can be reported in which format can still be applied here.

[0112] In another embodiment, the network can configure the UE to selectively use the Rel-18 or Rel-19 DSR format based on DL control signaling. Such DL signaling can be performed to provide semi-static configuration e.g. by means of DL RRC control signaling. Therein, the network may configure the UE to use either the Rel-18 DSR format or the Rel-19 DSR format or both formats. The UE then decides to use of one or both formats depending on certain threshold conditions as discussed above. Alternatively, the network may dynamically control the activation / deactivation of Rel-18 DSR format reporting, or Rel-19 DSR format reporting or both of them providing lower layer control signaling, e.g., MAC CE or DCI.P112900W001

[0113] With the above-described signaling framework, the network can configure the UEs to use either the Rel-18 DSR or Rel-19 DSR format depending on the data load situation in the UL / network. Such For example, if the uplink, UL, traffic load exceeds a certain threshold, the network can prevent larger reports i.e. , Rel-19 DSR reports from being triggered.

[0114] Figure 3 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method, as carried out by a communication device, such as a 3GPP UE, configured for use in a communication network, such as a 3GPP 5G or 6G network.

[0115] Block 1110 illustrates a step of selectively using a first format for the DSR and / or a second format for the DSR wherein the first format comprises a plurality of reporting thresholds associated to the buffer data, and the second format comprises a single reporting threshold DSR associated to the buffer data;

[0116] Block 1120 illustrates a step of transmitting a delay status report, DSR, that includes delay information of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical channels, LCHs, or logical channel groups, LCGs.

[0117] Figure 4 is a process flow diagram illustrating an example method, as carried out by a network node such as a base station, gNB.

[0118] Block 1210 illustrates an optional step of configuring a UE configuring a UE to perform a certain DSR reporting;

[0119] Block 1220 illustrates a step of receiving a delay status report, DSR, that includes delay information of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical LCHs or LCGs.

[0120] Embodiments herein also include corresponding apparatuses. Embodiments herein for instance include a communication device 12, e.g., as illustrated in Figure 5, configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12.

[0121] Embodiments also include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the communication device 12.

[0122] Embodiments further include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the communication device 12 further comprises communication circuitry.

[0123] Embodiments further include a communication device 12 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device 12 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12.P112900W001

[0124] Embodiments moreover include a user equipment (UE). The UE comprises an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals. The UE also comprises radio frontend circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the communication device 12. In some embodiments, the UE also comprises an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may comprise an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry. The UE may also comprise a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0125] Embodiments herein also include a network node 14, e.g., as illustrated in Figure 3, configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for a network node.

[0126] Embodiments also include a network node 14 comprising processing circuitry and power supply circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 12B. The power supply circuitry is configured to supply power to the network node 14.

[0127] Embodiments further include a network node 14 comprising processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 14. In some embodiments, the network node 14 further comprises communication circuitry.

[0128] Embodiments further include a network node 14 comprising processing circuitry and memory. The memory contains instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node 14 is configured to perform any of the steps of any of the embodiments described above for the network node 14.

[0129] More particularly, the apparatuses described above may perform the methods herein and any other processing by implementing any functional means, modules, units, or circuitry. In one embodiment, for example, the apparatuses comprise respective circuits or circuitry configured to perform the steps shown in the method figures. The circuits or circuitry in this regard may comprise circuits dedicated to performing certain functional processing and / or one or more microprocessors in conjunction with memory. For instance, the circuitry may include one or more microprocessor or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware, which may include digital signal processors (DSPs), special-purpose digital logic, and the like. The processing circuitry may be configured to execute program code stored in memory, which may include one or several types of memory such as read-only memory (ROM),P112900W001

[0130] random-access memory, cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. Program code stored in memory may include program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communications protocols as well as instructions for carrying out one or more of the techniques described herein, in several embodiments. In embodiments that employ memory, the memory stores program code that, when executed by the one or more processors, carries out the techniques described herein.

[0131] Figure 5 for example illustrates a communication node 12 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the communication node 12 includes processing circuitry 1310 and communication circuitry 1320. The communication circuitry 1320 (e.g., radio circuitry) is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. Such communication may occur via one or more antennas that are either internal or external to the communication node 12. The processing circuitry 1310 is configured to perform processing described above, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 1330. The processing circuitry 1310 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0132] Figure 6 illustrates a network node 14 as implemented in accordance with one or more embodiments. As shown, the network node 14 includes processing circuitry 1410 and communication circuitry 1420. The communication circuitry 1420 is configured to transmit and / or receive information to and / or from one or more other nodes, e.g., via any communication technology. The processing circuitry 1410 is configured to perform processing described above, such as by executing instructions stored in memory 1430. The processing circuitry 1410 in this regard may implement certain functional means, units, or modules.

[0133] Those skilled in the art will also appreciate that embodiments herein further include corresponding computer programs.

[0134] A computer program comprises instructions which, when executed on at least one processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to carry out any of the respective processing described above. A computer program in this regard may comprise one or more code modules corresponding to the means or units described above.

[0135] Embodiments further include a carrier containing such a computer program. This carrier may comprise one of an electronic signal, optical signal, radio signal, or computer readable storage medium.

[0136] In this regard, embodiments herein also include a computer program product stored on a non-transitory computer readable (storage or recording) medium and comprising instructions that, when executed by a processor of an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform as described above.P112900W001

[0137] Embodiments further include a computer program product comprising program code portions for performing the steps of any of the embodiments herein when the computer program product is executed by a computing device. This computer program product may be stored on a computer readable recording medium.

[0138] Figure 7 shows an example of a communication system 1500 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0139] In the example, the communication system 1500 includes a telecommunication network 1502 that includes an access network 1504, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 1506, which includes one or more core network nodes 1508. The access network 1504 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 1510a and 1510b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 1510), or any other similar 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 1502 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 1502 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or more functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 1502, including one or more network nodes 1510 and / or core network nodes 1508.

[0140] Examples of an ORAN network node include an open radio unit (0-Rll), an open distributed unit (0-Dll), an open central unit (O-CU), including an O-CU control plane (O-CLI-CP) or an O-CU user plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non-real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an A1, F1, W1, E1, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the O-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 1510 facilitate direct or indirect connection of userP112900W001

[0141] equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 1512a, 1512b, 1512c, and 1512d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 1512) to the core network 1506 over one or more wireless connections.

[0142] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 1500 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 1500 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0143] The UEs 1512 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 1510 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 1510 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 1512 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 1502 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 1502.

[0144] In the depicted example, the core network 1506 connects the network nodes 1510 to one or more host computing systems, such as host 1516. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 1506 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 1508) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 1508. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0145] The host 1516 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 1504 and / or the telecommunication network 1502. The host 1516 may host a variety of applications to provide one or moreP112900W001

[0146] service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0147] As a whole, the communication system 1500 of Figure 7 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0148] In some examples, the telecommunication network 1502 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 1502 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 1502. For example, the telecommunications network 1502 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / Massive loT services to yet further UEs.

[0149] In some examples, the UEs 1512 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 1504 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 1504.

[0150] Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0151] In the example, the hub 1514 communicates with the access network 1504 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 1512c and / or 1512d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 1510b). In some examples, the hub 1514 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devicesP112900W001

[0152] described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 1514 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 1506 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 1510, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 1514. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 1514 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR device, display, loudspeaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 1514 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 1514 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In still another example, the hub 1514 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0153] The hub 1514 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 1510b. The hub 1514 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 1514 and UEs (e.g., UE 1512c and / or 1512d), and between the hub 1514 and the core network 1506. In other examples, the hub 1514 is connected to the core network 1506 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection.

[0154] Moreover, the hub 1514 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 1504 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 1510 while still connected via the hub 1514 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 1514 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 1510b. In other embodiments, the hub 1514 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 1510b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0155] Figure 8 shows a UE 1600 in accordance with some embodiments. The UE 1600 presents additional details of some embodiments of the UE 1512(A / B) of Figure 7. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage / playback device, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), an Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR) device,P112900W001

[0156] wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-loT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0157] A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), orvehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0158] The UE 1600 includes processing circuitry 1602 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1604 to an input / output interface 1606, a power source 1608, a memory 1610, a communication interface 1612, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in related figures. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0159] The processing circuitry 1602 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 1610. The processing circuitry 1602 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 1602 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs).

[0160] In the example, the input / output interface 1606 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 1600. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, aP112900W001

[0161] camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0162] In some embodiments, the power source 1608 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 1608 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 1608 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 1600 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 1608. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 1608 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 1600 to which power is supplied.

[0163] The memory 1610 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 1610 includes one or more application programs 1614, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 1616. The memory 1610 may store, for use by the UE 1600, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0164] The memory 1610 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and / or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUlCC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 1610 may allow the UE 1600 to accessP112900W001

[0165] instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 1610, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0166] The processing circuitry 1602 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 1612. The communication interface 1612 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 1622. The communication interface 1612 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 1618 and / or a receiver 1620 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 1618 and receiver 1620 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 1622) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.

[0167] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 1612 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0168] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 1612, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0169] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via aP112900W001

[0170] wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0171] A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (loT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smartwatch, a fitness tracker, a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 1600 shown in Figure 8.

[0172] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-loT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0173] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.P112900W001

[0174] Figure 9 shows a network node 1700 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)), O-RAN nodes or components of an O-RAN node (e.g., 0-Rll, 0-Dll, O-CU).

[0175] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an O-RAN access node) and / or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0176] Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0177] The network node 1700 includes a processing circuitry 1702, a memory 1704, a communication interface 1706, and a power source 1708. The network node 1700 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1700 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1700 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1704 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., aP112900W001

[0178] same antenna 1710 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1700 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1700, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 1700.

[0179] The processing circuitry 1702 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1700 components, such as the memory 1704, to provide network node 1700 functionality.

[0180] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1712 and baseband processing circuitry 1714. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1712 and the baseband processing circuitry 1714 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 1712 and baseband processing circuitry 1714 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0181] The memory 1704 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1702. The memory 1704 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1702 and utilized by the network node 1700. The memory 1704 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1702 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1706. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1702 and memory 1704 is integrated.

[0182] The communication interface 1706 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1706 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1716 to send and receiveP112900W001

[0183] data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1706 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1718 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1710. Radio front-end circuitry 1718 comprises filters 1720 and amplifiers 1722. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may be connected to an antenna 1710 and processing circuitry 1702. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 1710 and processing circuitry 1702. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1718 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 1720 and / or amplifiers 1722. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1710. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1710 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1718. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 1702. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0184] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1700 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1718, instead, the processing circuitry 1702 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1710. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1712 is part of the communication interface 1706. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1706 includes one or more ports or terminals 1716, the radio front-end circuitry 1718, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1712, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1706 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1714, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0185] The antenna 1710 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1710 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1718 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1710 is separate from the network node 1700 and connectable to the network node 1700 through an interface or port.

[0186] The antenna 1710, communication interface 1706, and / or the processing circuitry 1702 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1710, the communication interface 1706, and / or the processing circuitry 1702 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and / orP112900W001

[0187] signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and / or any other network equipment.

[0188] The power source 1708 provides power to the various components of network node 1700 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1708 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1700 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1700 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1708. As a further example, the power source 1708 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.

[0189] Embodiments of the network node 1700 may include additional components beyond those shown in related figures for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1700 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1700 and to allow output of information from the network node 1700. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1700.

[0190] Figure 10 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1800 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1800 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1800 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, UE, core network node, or host.P112900W001

[0191] Applications 1802 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment Q400 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0192] Hardware 1804 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1806 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1808a and 1808b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1808), and / or perform any of the functions, features and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1806 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1808.

[0193] The VMs 1808 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1806. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1802 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1808, and the implementations may be made in different ways.

[0194] Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment.

[0195] In the context of NFV, a VM 1808 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1808, and that part of hardware 1804 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1808 on top of the hardware 1804 and corresponds to the application 1802.

[0196] Hardware 1804 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1804 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1804 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1810, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1802. In some embodiments, hardware 1804 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used inP112900W001

[0197] combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1812 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0198] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0199] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.P112900W001

[0200] Examples of embodiments of the techniques, apparatuses, and systems described above include, but are not limited to, the following enumerated examples:

[0201] A1. A method performed by a communication device, UE, (12), the method comprising: transmitting a delay status report, DSR, that includes delay information of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical channels, LCHs, or logical channel groups, LCGs; selectively using a first format for the DSR and / or a second format for the DSR wherein the first format comprises a plurality of reporting thresholds associated to the buffer data, and the second format comprises a single reporting threshold DSR associated to the buffer data.

[0202] A2. The method of A1 , wherein for transmitting a DSR with the first format, multithreshold DSR, the buffer data is divided into multiple portions, and wherein each portion is associated to one of the plurality of reporting thresholds, and wherein for transmitting a DSR with the second format, single-threshold DSR, the buffer data as a whole is associated to one single reporting threshold.

[0203] A3. The method of A1-A2, wherein the UE performs:

[0204] determining that the LCHs / LCGs to be reported have configured multiple thresholds and / or data in more than one threshold;

[0205] determining that sufficient transmission resources are available for transmitting a corresponding multi-threshold DSR; and

[0206] transmitting the DSR at an upcoming time instance.

[0207] A4. The method of A1-A2, wherein the UE performs:

[0208] determining that the LCHs / LCGs to be reported have configured multiple thresholds and / or data in more than one threshold;

[0209] determining that not sufficient transmission resources are available for transmitting a corresponding multi-threshold DSR and / or that there is not sufficient time to prepare and / or transmit the DSR for the upcoming time instance,

[0210] refraining from transmitting the multi-threshold DSR at the upcoming time instance, or transmitting a multi-threshold DSR with reduced information; e.g. by truncating values being reported.

[0211] A5. The method of A4, further comprising:

[0212] postpone transmission of the multi-threshold DSR until a later time instance, where there are sufficient transmission resources to accommodate the DSR.P112900W001

[0213] A6. The method of A4, further comprising:

[0214] excluding all thresholds except one selected threshold and transmit a single threshold DSR (i.e. one pair of remaining time together with the associated buffer data).

[0215] A7. The method of A6, wherein the UE apply certain rules for excluding all thresholds except the one selected threshold.

[0216] A8. The method of A6-A7, wherein the UE performs transmission of the single threshold DSR by excluding all thresholds except one selected threshold, if at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled:

[0217] • an amount of new data that triggered a threshold in those multi-thresholds LCGs (e.g. by determining if the amount of data exceed a certain threshold), • a remaining time threshold the data resides in (e.g. data only exceeded a trigger threshold but still have a long remaining time until discard),

[0218] • a number of reporting thresholds that have data to be reported,

[0219] • a certain time has elapsed since a last DSR was reported for these LCGs.

[0220] A9. The method of A6-A8, wherein the UE selects the threshold with the least remaining time.

[0221] A10. The method of A7-9, wherein the UE is configured by the network to apply the certain rule, and / or receives a message from the network to apply the certain rule.

[0222] A11. The method of A6-A10, wherein the UE prepares a further DSR comprising the information about the excluded thresholds (or a part of the excluded thresholds) and transmits it at a later time instance.

[0223] A12. The method of A11, wherein the UE prepares a multi-threshold DSR to comprise the excluded information, thereby taking into account that buffer size may have changed and / or that additional LCHs / LCGs shall be considered in the DSR.

[0224] A13. The method of A4, further comprising transmitting a single-threshold DSR to exclude all LCHs / LCGs being configured with multiple reporting thresholds and / or having data associated to more that one threshold.

[0225] A14. The method of A1-A13, wherein the UE performs:

[0226] generating a single-threshold DSR for LCHs or LCGs that have configured one reportingP112900W001

[0227] thresholds and / or have data associated to only one threshold; and

[0228] generating a multi-threshold DSR for LCHs or LCGs that have configured a plurality of reporting thresholds and / or have data associated to a plurality of thresholds;

[0229] inserting the single-threshold DSR and the multi-threshold DSR into one Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE; and

[0230] transmitting the MAC CE to the network.

[0231] A15. The method of A1-A14, wherein the UE is configured to use a single format DSR in a case where a multi-threshold DSR will not provide better granularity, e.g. if there is only buffer data associated to just one threshold.

[0232] A16. The method of A1, wherein the UE is configured to selectively use the multi-threshold DSR or the single-threshold DSR based on DL control signaling, the DL signaling control signaling provide semi-static configuration and may further provide rules to perform the selection of DSR formats.

[0233] A17. The method of A1, wherein the UE is configured to selectively use the multi-threshold DSR or the single-threshold DSR based on DL control signaling, the DL signaling control signaling provide semi-static configuration based on dynamical activation / deactivation of single-threshold DSR reporting and / or multi-threshold DSR reporting by lower layer control signaling, e.g., MAC CE or DCI.

[0234] A18. A user equipment, UE, configured to perform the steps of any of embodiments A1-A17.

[0235] A19. A UE comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the steps of any of the embodiments A1-A17.

[0236] A20. A UE comprising:

[0237] processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device is configured to perform the steps of any of the embodiments A1-A17.

[0238] A21. A UE comprising:

[0239] an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;

[0240] radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;P112900W001

[0241] the processing circuitry being configured to perform the steps of any of embodiments A1-A17;

[0242] an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and

[0243] a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE.

[0244] A22. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication device, cause the communication node to perform the steps of any of the embodiments A1-A17.

[0245] A23. A method in a network node (14), comprising receiving a delay status report, DSR, that includes delay information of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical channels, LCHs, or logical channel groups, LCGs.

[0246] A24. The method of A23, comprising receiving a DSR having a first format and / or a DSR with a second format, wherein the first format comprises a plurality of reporting thresholds associated to the buffer data, and the second format comprises a single reporting threshold DSR associated to the buffer data.

[0247] A25. The method of A23-A24, further comprising configuring the UE to apply the certain rule, and / or transmitting a message to apply the certain rule to use one of a single -threshold DSR and / or a multiple-threshold DSR.

[0248] A26. The method of A23-A25, further comprising receiving a single-threshold DSR for a LCH.LCG configured for multi-threshold reporting, wherein all thresholds except one selected threshold are excluded.

[0249] A27. The method of A26, comprising receiving a multi-threshold DSR to comprise the excluded information, thereby taking into account that buffer size may have changed and / or that additional LCHs / LCGs shall be considered in the DSR.

[0250] A28. The method of A23-A27, comprising receiving a Medium Access Control, MAC,P112900W001

[0251] Control Element, CE; comprising a single-threshold DSR for LCHs or LCGs that have configured one reporting thresholds and / or have data associated to only one threshold; and comprising a multi-threshold DSR for LCHs or LCGs that have configured a plurality of reporting thresholds and / or have data associated to a plurality of thresholds.

[0252] A29. The method of A23-A28, configuring the UE to selectively use the multi-threshold DSR or the single-threshold DSR based on DL control signaling, the DL signaling control signaling provide semi-static configuration and may further provide rules to perform the selection of DSR formats.

[0253] A30. The method of A23-A29, configured the UE to selectively use the multi-threshold DSR or the single-threshold DSR based on DL control signaling, the DL signaling control signaling provide semi-static configuration based on dynamical activation / deactivation of singlethreshold DSR reporting and / or multi-threshold DSR reporting by lower layer control signaling, e.g., MAC CE or DCI.

[0254] A31. A network node configured to perform the steps of any of embodiments A23-A30.

[0255] A32. A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of embodiments A23-A30.

[0256] A33. A network node comprising:

[0257] processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node is configured to perform the steps of any of embodiments A23-A30.

[0258] A34. The network node of any of embodiments A23-A30, wherein the network node is a base station.

[0259] A35. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node, causes the network node to perform the steps of any of embodiments A23-A30.P112900W001

[0260] ABBREVIATIONS

[0261] At least some of the following abbreviations may be used in this disclosure. If there is an inconsistency between abbreviations, preference should be given to how it is used above. If listed multiple times below, the first listing should be preferred over any subsequent listing(s).

[0262] 3GPP 3rd Generation Partnership Project

[0263] 5G 5th Generation

[0264] 5GC 5G Core Network

[0265] 6G 6thGeneration

[0266] ABS Almost Blank Subframe

[0267] AR Augmented Reality

[0268] ARQ Automatic Repeat Request

[0269] AWGN Additive White Gaussian Noise

[0270] BCCH Broadcast Control Channel

[0271] BCH Broadcast Channel

[0272] CA Carrier Aggregation

[0273] CC Carrier Component

[0274] CCCH SDU Common Control Channel SDU

[0275] CDMA Code Division Multiplex Access

[0276] CGI Cell Global Identity

[0277] CIR Channel Impulse Response

[0278] CP Cyclic Prefix

[0279] CPICH Common Pilot Channel

[0280] CQI Channel Quality Information

[0281] C-RNTI Cell RNTI

[0282] CSI Channel State Information

[0283] DCCH Dedicated Control Channel

[0284] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0285] DL Downlink

[0286] DM Demodulation

[0287] DMRS Demodulation Reference Signal

[0288] DRB Dedicated Radio Bearer

[0289] DRX Discontinuous Reception

[0290] DSR Delay Status Report(ing)

[0291] DTX Discontinuous Transmission

[0292] DTCH Dedicated Traffic ChannelP112900W001

[0293] DUT Device Under Test

[0294] E-CID Enhanced Cell-ID (positioning method)

[0295] Ec / No Received energy per chip divided by the power density in the band eMBB enhanced Mobile Broadband

[0296] eMBMS Evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services

[0297] ECGI Evolved CGI

[0298] eNB E-UTRAN NodeB

[0299] ePDCCH Enhanced Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0300] E-SMLC Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center

[0301] E-UTRAN Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network

[0302] FDD Frequency Division Duplex

[0303] FFS For Further Study

[0304] Fps Frames per second

[0305] gNB Base station in NR

[0306] GNSS Global Navigation Satellite System

[0307] HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request

[0308] HO Handover

[0309] HSPA High Speed Packet Access

[0310] HRPD High Rate Packet Data

[0311] IP Internet Protocol

[0312] KB Kilobytes

[0313] L1 Layer 1

[0314] LCH Logical Channel

[0315] LCG Logical Channel Group

[0316] LOS Line of Sight

[0317] LPP LTE Positioning Protocol

[0318] LTE Long-Term Evolution

[0319] MAC Medium Access Control

[0320] MAC CE MAC Control Element

[0321] MBSFN Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service Single Frequency Network MBSFN ABS MBSFN Almost Blank Subframe

[0322] MDT Minimization of Drive Tests

[0323] MIB Master Information Block

[0324] MME Mobility Management Entity

[0325] MR Mixed Reality

[0326] MSC Mobile Switching Center

[0327] NPDCCH Narrowband Physical Downlink Control ChannelP112900W001

[0328] NR New Radio

[0329] OCNG OFDMA Channel Noise Generator

[0330] OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access OSS Operations Support System

[0331] OTDOA Observed Time Difference of Arrival O&M Operation and Maintenance

[0332] PBCH Physical Broadcast Channel

[0333] P-CCPCH Primary Common Control Physical Channel PCell Primary Cell

[0334] PCFICH Physical Control Format Indicator Channel PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol

[0335] PDP Power Delay Profile

[0336] PDSCH Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0337] PDU Protocol Data Unit

[0338] PGW Packet Gateway

[0339] PHICH Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel PLMN Public Land Mobile Network

[0340] PMI Precoding Matrix Indicator

[0341] PRACH Physical Random Access Channel

[0342] PRS Positioning Reference Signal

[0343] PSI PDU Set Importance

[0344] PSS Primary Synchronization Signal

[0345] PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0346] PUSCH Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0347] RACH Random Access Channel

[0348] QAM Quadrature Amplitude Modulation

[0349] RAN Radio Access Network

[0350] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0351] RLC Radio Link Control

[0352] RLM Radio Link Monitoring

[0353] RNC Radio Network Controller

[0354] RNTI Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0355] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0356] RRM Radio Resource Management

[0357] RS Reference SignalP112900W001

[0358] RSCP Received Signal Code Power

[0359] RSRP Reference Symbol Received Power OR Reference Signal Received Power RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality OR Reference Symbol Received Quality RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator RSTD Reference Signal Time Difference

[0360] SCH Synchronization Channel

[0361] SCell Secondary Cell

[0362] SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

[0363] SDU Service Data Unit

[0364] SFN System Frame Number

[0365] SGW Serving Gateway

[0366] SI System Information

[0367] SIB System Information Block

[0368] SNR Signal to Noise Ratio

[0369] SON Self-Organizing Network

[0370] SS Synchronization Signal

[0371] SSS Secondary Synchronization Signal

[0372] TB Transport Block

[0373] TDD Time Division Duplex

[0374] TDOA Time Difference of Arrival

[0375] TOA Time of Arrival

[0376] TSS Tertiary Synchronization Signal

[0377] TTI Transmission Time Interval

[0378] UE User Equipment

[0379] UL Uplink

[0380] UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System UR LLC Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications USIM Universal Subscriber Identity Module UTDOA Uplink Time Difference of Arrival

[0381] VoIP Voice over IP (Internet Protocol)

[0382] VR Virtual Reality

[0383] WCDMA Wideband CDMA

[0384] WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

[0385] XR extended Reality

Claims

P112900W001CLAIMS1. A method performed by a communication device, UE, (12), the method comprising: transmitting (1120) a delay status report, DSR (30), that includes delay information (38) of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical channels, LCHs, or logical channel groups, LCGs;selectively using (1110) a first format for the DSR and / or a second format for the DSR wherein the first format comprises a plurality of reporting thresholds associated to the buffer data, and the second format comprises a single reporting threshold DSR associated to the buffer data.

2. The method of claims 1 , wherein for transmitting a DSR with the first format, multithreshold DSR, the buffer data is divided into multiple portions, and wherein each portion is associated to one of the plurality of reporting thresholds, and wherein for transmitting a DSR with the second format, single-threshold DSR, the buffer data as a whole is associated to one single reporting threshold.

3. The method of claims 1-2, wherein the UE (12) performs:determining that the LCHs / LCGs to be reported have configured multiple thresholds and / or data in more than one threshold;determining that sufficient transmission resources are available for transmitting a corresponding multi-threshold DSR; andtransmitting the DSR at an upcoming time instance.

4. The method of claims 1-2, wherein the UE (12) performs:determining that the LCHs and / or LCGs to be reported have configured multiple thresholds and / or data in more than one threshold;determining that not sufficient transmission resources are available for transmitting a corresponding multi-threshold DSR and / or that there is not sufficient time to prepare and / or transmit the DSR for the upcoming time instance,refraining from transmitting the multi-threshold DSR at the upcoming time instance or transmitting a multi-threshold DSR with reduced information.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:Postponing the transmission of the multi-threshold DSR until a later time instance, when there are sufficient transmission resources to accommodate the DSR.39P112900W0016. The method of claim 4, further comprising:excluding all thresholds except one selected threshold and transmitting a single threshold DSR comprising a remaining time and associated buffer data.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the UE (12) apply certain rules for excluding all thresholds except the one selected threshold.

8. The method of claim 6-7, wherein the UE (12) performs transmission of the single threshold DSR by excluding all thresholds except one selected threshold, if at least one of the following conditions is fulfilled:• an amount of new data that triggered a threshold in those multi-thresholds LCGs; • a remaining time threshold the data resides in;• a number of reporting thresholds that have data to be reported; and• a certain time has elapsed since a last DSR was reported for these LCGs.

9. The method of claims 6-8, wherein the UE (12) selects the threshold with the least remaining time.

10. The method of claims 7-9, wherein the UE (12) is configured by the network to apply the certain rule, and / or receives a message from the network to apply the certain rule.

11. The method of claims 6-10, wherein the UE (12) performs preparing a further DSR comprising the information about excluded thresholds and transmitting the prepared DSR at a later time instance.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE (12) performs preparing a multi-threshold DSR to comprise the excluded information, thereby taking into account that buffer size may have changed and / or that additional LCHs and / or LCGs shall be considered in the DSR.

13. The method of claim 4, further comprising transmitting a single-threshold DSR to exclude all LCHs and / or LCGs being configured with multiple reporting thresholds and / or having data associated to more that one threshold.

14. The method of claims 1-13, wherein the UE (12) performs:generating a single-threshold DSR for LCHs or LCGs that have configured one reporting thresholds and / or have data associated to only one threshold; andgenerating a multi-threshold DSR for LCHs or LCGs that have configured a plurality of40P112900W001reporting thresholds and / or have data associated to a plurality of thresholds;inserting the single-threshold DSR and the multi-threshold DSR into one Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE; andtransmitting the MAC CE to the network.

15. The method of claims 1-14, wherein the UE (12) is configured to use a single format DSR in a case where a multi-threshold DSR will not provide better granularity, e.g. if there is only buffer data associated to just one threshold.

16. The method of claim 1 , wherein the UE (12) is configured to selectively use the multithreshold DSR or the single-threshold DSR based on DL control signaling, the DL signaling control signaling provide semi-static configuration and may further provide rules to perform the selection of DSR formats.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE (12) is configured to selectively use the multithreshold DSR or the single-threshold DSR based on DL control signaling, the DL signaling control signaling provide semi-static configuration based on dynamical activation / deactivation of single-threshold DSR reporting and / or multi-threshold DSR reporting by lower layer control signaling.

18. A user equipment, UE (12), configured to perform the steps of any of claims 1-17.

19. A UE (12) comprising processing circuitry configured to perform the steps of any of the claims 1-17.

20. A UE (12) comprising:processing circuitry and memory, the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the communication device is configured to perform the steps of any of the claims 1-17.

21. A UE (12) comprising:an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals;radio front-end circuitry (1320) connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry (1330), and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry;the processing circuitry being configured to perform the steps of any of claims 1-17; an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow input41P112900W001of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry.

22. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a communication device, cause the communication node to perform the steps of any of the claims 1-17.

23. A method in a network node (14), comprising receiving (1220) a delay status report, DSR, that includes delay information of buffer data associated to one or a plurality of logical channels, LCHs, or logical channel groups, LCGs.

24. The method of claim 23, comprising receiving a DSR having a first format and / or a DSR with a second format, wherein the first format comprises a plurality of reporting thresholds associated to the buffer data, and the second format comprises a single reporting threshold DSR associated to the buffer data.

25. The method of claims 23-24, further comprising configuring (1220) the UE to apply a certain rule, and / or transmitting a message to apply the certain rule to use one of a single -threshold DSR and / or a multiple-threshold DSR.

26. The method of claims 23-25, further comprising receiving a single-threshold DSR for a LCH and / or LCG configured for multi-threshold reporting, wherein all thresholds except one selected threshold are excluded.

27. The method of claim 26, comprising receiving a multi-threshold DSR to comprise the excluded information, thereby taking into account that buffer size may have changed and / or that additional LCHs and / or LCGs shall be considered in the DSR.

28. The method of claims 23-27, comprising receiving a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE; comprising a single-threshold DSR for LCHs or LCGs that have configured one reporting thresholds and / or have data associated to only one threshold; and comprising a multi-threshold DSR for LCHs or LCGs that have configured a plurality of reporting thresholds and / or have data associated to a plurality of thresholds.

29. The method of claims 23-28, configuring the UE to selectively use the multi-threshold DSR or the single-threshold DSR based on DL control signaling, the DL signaling controlP112900W001signaling provide semi-static configuration and may further provide rules to perform the selection of DSR formats.

30. The method of claims 23-29, configuring the UE (12) to selectively use the multithreshold DSR or the single-threshold DSR based on DL control signaling, the DL signaling control signaling providing semi-static configuration based on dynamical activation / deactivation of single-threshold DSR reporting and / or multi-threshold DSR reporting by lower layer control signaling.

31. A network node (14) configured to perform the steps of any of claims 23-30.

32. A network node (14) comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of claims 23-30.

33. A network node (14) comprising:processing circuitry (1410) and memory (1430), the memory containing instructions executable by the processing circuitry whereby the network node is configured to perform the steps of any of claims 23-30.

34. The network node (14) of any of claims 23-30, wherein the network node is a base station.

35. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by at least one processor of a network node, causes the network node to perform the steps of any of claims 23-30.

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